Resources

A. Books

Born Strong by Dr. Paul Lam
Teaching Tai Chi Effectively by Dr. Paul Lam
Breathing Underwater by Margaret Emerson
Yang Family Secret Transmissions by Douglas Wile
Flourish by Martin Seligman
108 Insights Tai Chi Chuan A String of Pearls by Michael Gilman
Be Like Water Practical Wisdom from the
Martial Arts by Joseph Cardillo
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to T’ai Chi & Qigong by Bill Douglas

B. DVD’s Note: All these DVD’s are by Dr. Paul Lam and can be purchased through me or by going to Tai Chi Productions http://us.taichiproductions.com/dvds/sort=bestselling&page=1

For Beginners

Tai Chi for Arthritis 12 Lesson
Tai Chi for Arthritis Part 2
Tai Chi for Rehabilitation
Tai Chi for Beginners
Seated Tai Chi for Arthritis
Tai Chi for Diabetes
Tai Chi for Energy

Intermediate

The 24 Forms
Sun 73 Form
Tai Chi for Energy Part 2
Yang 8 Form

Advanced

Chen 18
Chen 36
Combined 42 Forms

C. Articles Note: It is hoped that the following articles will give a greater insight into the practice of tai chi and to guide you as to its benefits.

Restored by Tai Chi: Meditative martial art strengthens transplant patients’ bodies, minds
The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn. 07-12-11

The organ-transplant patients show up early for this appointment, lining up in front of Richard Link as he starts the session with a soothing, authoritative voice that makes him sound more like a doctor than a man who is on his fourth kidney himself. “Let’s start with a deep breath,” Link tells the half-dozen middle-age and elderly men and women gathered in the lobby of a building on the campus of Methodist University Hospital. “Now, a little back stretch, like a cat when it gets up in the morning.”
It’s early evening, and the relaxing strains of music indicate that Link, 66, is launching into another of his twice-weekly classes in tai chi, the Chinese martial arts form employing fluid motions, gentle exercise and stretching.
If tai chi conjures up images of large group fitness sessions, in Link’s class it’s strictly therapeutic.

Knowing firsthand the burdens facing people who either have received or are about to get organ transplants, Link has become increasingly devoted to teaching them the meditative martial arts form. Tai chi, he says, restores muscle strength and aerobic endurance, improves balance and flexibility, reduces stress and pain and enhances circulation and sleeping. It's the perfect exercise for pre- and post-transplant patients,” Link says. “It's gentle, it's easy, everyone can do it.”
For the past year, the retired Air Force jet aircraft mechanic has been giving free classes for transplant patients and their caregivers and speaking at support meetings for patients.
The campus of Methodist, one of the top 12 transplant centers in the nation, is an obvious location for Link's classes. In partnership with the University of Tennessee, the hospital has performed 2,000 kidney and 1,000 liver transplants, as well as 100 pancreas and 270 kidney-pancreas operations over the past three decades.
The hospital provides Link space for his classes and lets him leave brochures at the transplant clinic.
“It's not that we endorse one thing or another. We think that anything that stimulates physical activity is very important,” said Dr. Luis Campos, surgical director of the kidney transplant program at Methodist.
Link's focus is organ-transplant patients, but if recent research is any guide, the benefits of tai chi are much more broad-ranging.
In studies published just this year, researchers from Harvard and a Boston hospital reported that tai chi workouts improved the mood and confidence of people with chronic heart failure, while another scientist at the University of Missouri found that tai chi helped cancer patients overcome the cognitive problems associated with chemotherapy.
Other studies indicate tai chi can significantly reduce falls among elderly people.
“There's a growing but imperfect amount of evidence for a number of types of rehabilitation” that can benefit from tai chi, said Dr. Peter Wayne, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of tai chi and mind-body research there.
The reason, Wayne said, is the relaxation and concentration involved. “Tai chi is considered a mind-body exercise,” he said.
That tai chi offers a variety of benefits shouldn't come as a surprise. As far back as 1947, one of the best-known grand masters of the martial art form, Cheng Man-Ching, wrote about how it “strengthens the weak, raises the sick, invigorates the debilitated and encourages the timid.”
Link, a native of upstate New York who has been living in Memphis for two decades, knows all too well how weak and sick transplant patients can feel.
Possibly as a result of a childhood strep infection, he suffered from a condition called acute glomerulonephritis, in which scar tissue clogged the filtering capacity of his kidneys, shutting them down.
In 1981, both of his kidneys were removed, and he received a transplant organ donated by his brother. That kidney lasted until 2000, when he received another transplant, this time from a cadaver.
Following the transplants, Link found himself weak and overweight, with little energy. Those conditions are typical of transplant patients, who frequently suffer dramatic loss of muscle mass, said Campos.
“We often find that people who have experienced organ failure are very debilitated,” he says.
Two years after his second transplant, Link took up taekwondo, a more aggressive, vigorous form of martial arts. But about three years ago, he looked for a gentler form of exercise for his aging body.
Link found tai chi — and liked the results so much that in early 2010 he approached Methodist about teaching it to other transplant patients.
One of the factors that drew Link to tai chi, as opposed to other martial arts or workouts, was its meditative quality. From his experience, and from observations of other patients, he was acutely aware of the emotional strains associated with transplants.
“I think the big thing with pre- and post-transplant patients is stress and depression,” Link says.
Along with worrying about their own health, some patients are wracked by guilt over receiving their “special gift,” he says.
Since starting his classes in June 2010, Link has attracted a devoted, if small, following.
“They almost never miss” a class, he says.
The patients and caregivers here on this June evening say they're much better off for having taken tai chi.
Memphis native Kendrick Hope, 45, received a kidney transplant three years ago. He recalls how weak he was when he tried swimming following his operation.
“I couldn't even climb out of the swimming pool,” he says. “After two weeks of this (tai chi), I had full strength in my legs.”
For Bill Palmer, 64, a retired airline customer-service supervisor living in Bartlett, tai chi was “a big benefit” in dealing with the stress he experienced before the liver transplant he underwent last December. Afterward, it boosted his energy level, he says. “I think it allowed me to recover faster — to get out and be active.”
That capacity to help people feel good enough to do other things is what makes tai chi such a universal tool in health care, Link says.
He recently traveled to Indiana to get certified to teach it to people who must remain seated and those who need help preventing falls. He talks about the promise tai chi holds for a wide range of patients.
“I'd like to see this thing grow,” Link says.
— Tom Charier: (901) 529-2572
Help for patients
Richard Link offers tai chi classes free of charge for organ-transplant patients and their caregivers. He can be reached by phone at (901) 581-8456 or e-mail at link1945@aol.com.
—–
Copyright (c) 2011, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn. https://www.memphisdailynews.com

Transplant Patient Brings Tai Chi to Peers
By Aisling Maki
Twice a week on the campus of Methodist University Hospital in Midtown, Richard Link leads a group of pre- and post-transplant patients in tai chi, an ancient Chinese martial arts form that’s evolved into a gentle exercise connecting mind and body.
Recent years have seen people with many health issues, including arthritis and diabetes, turn to tai chi, which uses slow, deliberate movements such as “waving hands in the clouds” and “stroking the bird’s tail.”
When Link became involved in the form several years ago, he said he “realized tai chi was just an absolutely perfect exercise for transplant patients. It’s slow. It’s an internal martial art, so you’re really working on stretching, breathing, balance and all those things people just really have a challenge with. It’s both physical and mental, and just a nice, gentle way for transplant patients to get back their strength and recover.”

While post-transplant patients come to work on regaining their strength and stamina, pre-transplant patients come to build theirs up in preparation for the difficult journey that lies ahead.
“There’s a big emotional thing that goes on when you’re very active and then you’re facing a transplant,” said Link, 65, a retired senior master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force who also teaches martial arts at a school and a church in Cordova, as well as a Downtown class on the riverfront.
“A bunch of things go on in your mind. You’re stressed out, depressed and fatigued. You get run down, you’re on a lot of medication and you get worn out, knowing that still have to face this traumatic experience of the operation.”
Link knows the challenges first-hand. After having both of his native kidneys removed in 1981, Link received a transplant from his brother, which lasted 19 years. In the late 1990s, his condition began to deteriorate, and he received another kidney transplant in 2000.
After the second transplant, Link said he was exhausted and overweight, and walking down to the mailbox and back was pretty much the day’s work.
Link became involved in the more aggressive, more rigorous martial arts form of taekwondo as a father-son activity, eventually earning his second-degree black belt while also taking tai chi classes.
Link is now certified to teach tai chi for beginners, tai chi for arthritis and tai chi for diabetes through Dr. Paul Lam of Tai Chi for Health, which has thousands of certified instructors throughout the world.
Although there’s no specific form for transplant patients, Link said he works with them using tai chi for diabetes because the form uses larger muscle groups and helps burn glucose and keep levels down.
“Considering a lot of people who have kidney transplants have diabetes, it seemed like the better form,” he said.
Melissa Moore, registered nurse and a certified clinical transplant coordinator at Methodist University Hospital, stresses the importance of exercise for recipients.
“For them to regain their strength as soon as possible after surgery, as far as the healing process goes, that’s very important,” she said. “Whether it’s tai chi or something else, exercise after surgery would be good for the patient. Everybody’s different and everybody has a different type of operation, whether it’s a kidney transplant or a liver transplant. As far as what they can do after surgery, it really depends on the level that the patient was at prior to surgery. A more gentle type of exercise may be required for some patients until they build up their strength.”
After receiving his certifications, Link said his next challenge was trying to convince the staff at Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute to let him teach tai chi to their patients.
“The transplant people are extremely protective of their patients, and they should be,” Link said. “And a lot of people don’t know about tai chi or understand it.”
Link connected with transplant social worker Sarah Owens, who was instrumental in getting Link’s tai chi program off the ground in August 2010.
“Sarah was extremely helpful in getting this thing going, talking to the staff about it and helping me promote it,” he said.
Link has since been invited to speak at several of Methodist’s meetings for pre-transplant patients. “The Methodist people have just been phenomenal; they’re very good about it,” he said. “And some people have come over because of the recommendation of their doctors.”
Link has about seven regulars in his free class, all pre- and post-transplant patients, usually accompanied by a family member.
Bill Palmer began attending the classes prior to his liver transplant in December.
“Tai chi really increased my strength,” Palmer said. “I was up and walking with a walker and a little assistance two days after surgery, and I was still in ICU.”
Another patient comes with her father, a leukemia patient, who’s also found value in practicing tai chi’s slow movements.
Link hopes to expand the program to help more patients in other locations.
“A lot of the folks who come to the meeting say they’d love to do this, but they live some long ways away – in Jackson, Oxford (Miss.), some from Little Rock,” he said. “So I think my little dream is that some other instructors and hospitals would see that this has benefit and get involved, maybe starting programs in all the different hospitals that do transplants.”
Patients interested in participating in the free classes, which meet Monday and Thursday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. can contact Richard Link at 581-8456 or visit the group’s Facebook page, “Memphis Tai Chi for Transplant Patients.”

National Kidney Foundation
https://www.kidney.org/
In January 2000, after my second kidney transplant, I was 50 pounds overweight, out of shape, and had very little energy. I needed a plan to get back in shape. That is when I had the crazy idea to join my son in taking classes in Taekwondo. I wrote about the experience of my training and receiving my 1st Degree Black Belt in Transplant Chronicles, spring 2005, titled Kicking for Life. I am still training in Taekwondo and have achieved 2nd Degree Black Belt status along the way.

Although I do not recommend a hard style martial program like Taekwondo for pre or post-transplant patients, I do believe that it is essential to have a good exercise program to help combat stress and to regain strength and stamina after surgery.
I started training in the slow and gentle form of Tai Chi in 2009 and quickly realized it was the perfect exercise for pre and post-transplant patients. It’s slow. It’s an internal martial art that works on stretching, breathing, balance, stress, depression and all those challenges so many people experience. It’s both physical and mental, and it’s a nice, gentle way for transplant patients to regain their strength and recover.
I have been very blessed to have good health with few medical challenges. I believe that I received the best care that anyone could possibly have from the medical staff at both the University of Tennessee and Methodist Health Care. I have wanted to find a way to give back, but did not know exactly how. I had the idea of teaching Tai Chi to others facing the challenges of transplant. I am now certified by Dr. Paul Lam’s Tai Chi for Health Community to teach Tai Chi for Beginners, Tai Chi for Arthritis, and Tai Chi for Diabetes classes.
I contacted Sarah Owens, a transplant social worker at Methodist University Hospital, about my idea to teach pre/post-transplant patients at a location close to the hospital. Ms. Owens was extremely helpful in getting the program off the ground. Sarah talked to the hospital’s transplant staff about the class, and was instrumental in finding a location and in promoting the program.
The classes are offered free to all local pre/post-transplant patients and their spouses or immediate care givers. We have a small core of regular students and meet twice a week. While post-transplant patients work on regaining their strength and stamina, pre/transplant patients come to build themselves up for the difficult journey that lies ahead.
Bill P. began attending the classes prior to his liver transplant in December. “Tai Chi really increased my strength. I was up and walking with a walker and little assistance two days after surgery, and I was still in the ICU.”
Anyone regardless of age, gender, or physical condition can participate because the classes can be enjoyed either sitting or standing.
My little dream is that certified instructors and transplant hospitals around the country will see the benefit and start a Tai Chi for Transplant Program in their area. I am more than willing to share my experience to help others get started.

Methodist Health Care
Former Transplant Patient Teaches Free Tai Chi Classes For Fellow Transplant Patients
Published On 03/17/2011
Richard Link steps to the head of the class and begins a series of slow, deliberate movements including “Waving Hands in the Clouds” and “Stroking the Bird’s Tail.” Link teaches free Tai Chi classes designed specifically for pre-and post-transplant patients and their support person. The class is held twice a week on the campus of Methodist University Hospital.
“Coming to these classes has really helped me with my balance and strength, particularly in the legs,” said Bill Palmer. He says the classes are good because even if you are limited in your movement you can still do the different positions.

Many people with several health issues turn to Tai Chi. This ancient Chinese martial arts form has evolved into a gentle, physical exercise connecting the mind and body. The body is in constant motion flowing from one form to the next.
Palmer was placed on the transplant list in August 2010. That’s when he learned about the Tai Chi class Link teaches and wanted to learn more. Palmer started coming to the classes with his wife before he had his liver transplant. He now comes regularly to the classes since he had his transplant this past December at the Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute. The MUH Transplant Institute in partnership with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is nationally recognized for its success with kidney, liver, kidney-pancreas and pancreas transplants.
Link, who teaches the class, is a retired Senior Master Sergeant USAF. He has been training in Taekwondo for nine years and is a martial arts instructor. He is certified to teach Tai Chi for Beginners, Tai Chi for Arthritis, and Tai Chi for Diabetes. Link is also a former transplant patient. He received a new kidney 10 years ago and learned firsthand the importance of a good exercise program to increase strength, stamina, and achieve overall good health.
“After the transplant, I was pretty weak, out of shape, and overweight,” said Link. “I wanted to get my energy back. It was tough just to walk to the mailbox and do the simplest chores.”
He became interested in the slow, gentle form of Tai Chi and thought it would be perfect for transplant patients to help build up their strength and stamina.
“I have been very blessed to be able to have great health with only a few medical challenges. I have received the best care that anyone could possibly have from both the UT and Methodist transplant staff,” said Link. “Because of that care, I wanted to find a way to give something back. By offering free Tai Chi classes to transplant patients and their support person, I have found a way to help other transplant patients.”
Palmer says he can’t stress enough the importance of taking Tai Chi before and after transplant surgery. “Tai Chi really increased my strength. I was up and walking with a walker and a little assistance two days after surgery, and I was still in ICU.”
For more information about free Tai Chi classes for transplant patients and their support
person contact Richard Link at 901-581-8456 or link1945@aol.com.

Tai Chi for Health Institute Newsletter #156 August 2014
Tai Chi for Rehabilitation – My First Impression
Richard Link, Senior Trainer, Tennessee
After returning from the June Workshop and decompressing for about a week, I started working with the Tai Chi for Rehabilitation DVD. Once I learned the sequence of the forms, I decided to introduce it to my students at the Tai Chi for Transplant Class. They have been practicing the Tai Chi for Arthritis form for quite a while so I felt it would be easy for them to learn.

The short version is, after going through the forms only a few times they had the sequence down and loved the form. The following evening when I was setting up for the class I teach at the Wellness/ Preventative Medicine Center, five new people walked in for class. I ended up with a total of sixteen of which three were seated. In our previous classes we had been working with the Tai Chi for Diabetes forms.
I decided this would be a perfect opportunity to introduce the TCR to new students. After breaking down the forms and demonstrating both standing and seated, we actually went thru the whole form several times before the end of class. It was received with great enthusiasm by both the new students and the more experienced.
Since the initial introduction of the form, we have been working with it in most of my classes. The students really like the form and continue to improve and discover new things about it.
I believe that the next time I am called upon to publicly present our Tai Chi for Health Program to various groups, I will use the TCR form as the group participation part of the presentation.
Here is a summary of comments about the TCR Form from my students.
• Easy to Learn
• Relaxing
• Creates energy
• Internal
• Soft
• Can find the spiraling
• Calming
• Gentle movements
• Sense of accomplishment in only one session
• Easy to perform seated
• Perfect for recovering from back surgery
• Not complicated
• Perfect for new students
For me personally, I reflect back to my slow painful recovery from major surgery years ago and can’t help to think how using this form would have made my recovery not only speedier but a lot less painful.
Thank you Dr. Lam for bringing us this form.

Tai Chi for Health Institute Newsletter #149 January 2014
Equine Tai Chi Program
Richard Link, Senior Trainer, Cordova, Tennessee
Shelby Farms Park is the largest urban park in North America and is nestled in the geographic center of Memphis, Tennessee. The Park’s mission is to provide the community with opportunities for holistic development and activities that engage the entire family.
Each summer, the Park hosts a unique summer camp program for children ages 6-13 years old with a focus on outdoor exploration and health and wellness. In summer of 2013, Shelby Farms Park launched a new Equestrian Camp for urban children of Memphis to not only learn to ride a horse but become responsible equestrians. Through partnership with Richard Link, a tai chi instructor in the Memphis area, a program was developed utilizing the fundamentals of tai chi to introduce horseback riding to children. By utilizing tai chi, both the horse and child benefit.
For the child, this meant being able to feel what the horse is giving. For the horse, it meant less frequent, but more precise direction from a quiet, still rider. The program found that using tai chi as a rudimentary step of learning to horseback ride, the children learned to find confidence in themselves and their ability to bond with their horse. “The success of the children learning to ride was directly influenced by beginning each day with tai chi. It was a perfect relationship,” says Natalie Wilson, Manager of Events and Programs for Shelby Farms Park Conservancy.
For more information, please contact Natalie Wilson,
nwilson@shelbyfarmspark.org or Richard Link, link1945@aol.com

Embracing Challenges-Tai Chi for Health Institute Workshop, June 20, 2016. Written by Richard Link: Senior Trainer TCHI
None of us are immune from life’s challenges. I think I’ve have had my fair share, with a couple of kidney transplants, skin cancer operations, bad knees and then just all the things associated with growing older.
Every day is a battle for all of us. A battle to hope and to not give up. It’s not an easy ride but it is certainly worth every second. I would like to share a couple of stories that relate to embracing challenges and our Tai Chi for Rehabilitation Program.

First, a little background. I have been teaching a tai chi class for Pre and Post-Transplant Patients at a local hospital in Memphis for about 4 years now. We meet twice a week and have a nice group of 8 to 10 students.
In the building where I teach there are 10 steps that lead up to the floor where our room is located.
One evening, a young gentleman about 30 years old showed up to class with his mother. We will call him James.
James had received a liver transplant about 1 month previous at the Methodist University Hospital and he and his mother wanted to join our group. They were from a different state and had come to Memphis to receive the transplant. They had heard about our class from the transplant outpatient clinic. That first night it took James about 5 minutes to climb those 10 steps.
You see, James was a small man but he received a very large liver. I know this is something we don’t really think about but that large liver displaced his internal organs, forced his lungs up and out of their normal position and as a result, James had a very difficult time breathing.
We started James out seated and simply doing open and close exercises to his comfort level. He could only manage about 15 minutes of class that first night but we sent him home with the promise that he would do the open and close exercises every day and work a little harder each day.
James and his mother continued to come to class as they were able and we progressed into learning more of the forms as he gained more strength.
About 3 months passed and one night James came to class with his mother. He took those steps 2 at a time and announced that the hospital had released him to travel back home the next day. I should tell you there were many hugs and tears of joy from all of our group.
Another of our students, we will call her Laura, needed a liver resection due to cancer. Laura was undergoing chemotherapy treatment and was very ill.
We started out in a chair using the Tai Chi for Rehabilitation Form. Some days she was just too sick to come to class so I gave her a DVD to use at home. After her operation when she was able to return to class, she could only come one day a week because her chemo made her very sick.
After several months had passed she came to class one evening and announced that she was cancer free and done with the treatments. Again more tears of joy and hugs all around.
Her doctors referred her to physical therapy. After a few sessions of physical therapy she came to class one evening and informed us that her physical therapist told her that she was getting about the same treatment at physical therapy as she was in the tai chi class so just concentrate on doing her tai chi.
We haven’t seen her in a while because she went to visit friends in New York City. Friends that she never thought she would see again and then she went sailing on a cruise with her sister. We can’t wait for her to return and tell us of all her adventures.
These are two examples of how I have personally seen the Tai Chi for Rehabilitation Program help people regardless of their challenges.
The gentle approach will help build strength, stamina, improve breathing, and relieve stress.
It can be easily done seated, standing, or even in a hospital bed.
I would like to close with a quote from Joshua J. Marine
“Challenges are what makes life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”

Walk in the Park: Shelby Farms’ Wise Trek Targets 50-Plus Group
By Don Wade
They hike the trails, ride their bikes on the Greenline, maybe even go horseback riding or play disc golf.

“We see that age group out here all day long,” said Coral O’Connor, program assistant at Shelby Farms Park.
The $52 million Heart of the Park renovations project, expected to be completed in the summer of 2016, is the headline-grabber. But other programs are continuing or being started, such as the new Wise Trek program for park users 50 and older.

Maxine Strauder joins other participants in an outdoor Tai Chi session in Shelby Farms Park’s Wise Trek program for park users ages 50 and older. (Daily News/Andrew J. Breig)

Instructor Richard Link guides Wise Trek participants through an outdoor Tai Chi session at Shelby Farms Park. (Daily News/Andrew J. Breig)
The program name was nothing if not intentional. O’Connor says they didn’t want to use descriptors such as “golden” or “seniors” because, to some people, those words have negative connotations.
“We wanted to highlight their wisdom,” O’Connor said. “Some of our docents know more about the park than anyone on staff.”
Marilynn Weedon, 66, uses the park often. She and her husband, Bill, ride their bikes on the Shelby Farms Greenline. She hikes trails with other friends, works as a park volunteer and recently became a park docent. She likes the Wise Trek name, in part because she doesn’t believe those other terms do this age group justice.
“Baby boomers are coming into this age group with a different attitude and set of circumstances than previous generations,” Weedon said.
Weedon knows enough the park well enough to give tours to vans and buses full of people from retirement homes and assisted living centers. While they ride around enjoying the scenery, she provides an informal history lesson. Then those who can, and wish to, may get off and take a short walk or just sit outside on a bench.
“That was fun,” Weedon said. “I hope we do more of that.”
Natalie Wilson, events and programs manager at Shelby Farms Park, says even though the 50-plus age group has been using the park often, that demographic had been overlooked by not having its own programming.
“We haven’t had a focus on them until now, which shows us this was a missing (element),” Wilson said.
Wise Trek aims to hit a lot of interests. There are gardening classes, guided hikes and Tai Chi classes. Richard Link, a senior trainer at Tai Chi for Health Institute, is the instructor.
He says he tries to accommodate all ages and fitness levels, and the class can be taken standing or sitting down. For older participants, he says, there can be tangible safety benefits.
“One of the things I primarily do is show them how to shift their weight and walk carefully,” he said of the less mobile participants. “Tai Chi is a very slow thing. It’s not instant gratification.”
Also on the horizon: a book club and board game meet-up. Weedon is looking forward to both.
“The idea of having a new group at the park (for cards and dominoes) would be fun,” she said.
The renovation project is not being done without the Wise Trek crowd in mind. The new Patriot Lake will have a designated Wise Trek trail, about a mile long, paved, and offering signage with park facts and including benches for rest breaks.
Meantime, Marilynn Weedon will remain active with hiking and biking and volunteering at the Visitors Center. She says she knows of other 50-plus people who feel safe riding their bikes on the Greenline but wouldn’t ride on city streets. She realizes some people might be wary of hiking trails that go far into the woods, but there are group hikes to alleviate any safety concerns there.
The Weedons have lived in Memphis since the 1980s – Bill grew up here – and for Marilynn there is no question what she believes to be the city’s best asset: Shelby Farms, even while it’s undergoing a massive reconstruction project.
“For me, it’s number one,” she said.